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No. 18 South Carolina Faces First SEC Road Test This Weekend
Men's Tennis  . 

No. 18 South Carolina Faces First SEC Road Test This Weekend

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 18 South Carolina men’s tennis (6-2, 2-0 SEC) is prepared for the weekend on the road at SEC opponents Texas A&M (6-1) and LSU (8-2). The Gamecocks head to College Station to take on the Aggies on Fri., Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. (ET) before travelling to Baton Rouge to face the Tigers on Sun., Feb. 28, at 1 p.m. (ET).
 
Gamecock Notables

  • The Gamecocks head into the weekend 6-2 and 2-0 in SEC action after sweeping a pair of SEC matches at home and moving up to No. 18 in the Oracle/ITA Rankings. 
  • Doubles pair Toby Samuel and Jake Beasley continue to lead the Gamecocks with a 14-5 overall record, and also lead the team with a 2-0 SEC record. Their current winning streak sits at four.
  • No. 32 Daniel Rodrigues and true freshman Toby Samuel both have 13 singles wins on the season, leading the way for the Gamecocks. They are both 2-0 in SEC play along with Beasley. 
  • Samuel is on a five-match winning streak in singles, which is the longest active streak for the Gamecocks. He clinched the win for South Carolina in the match against Auburn.
  • No. 81 Raphael Lambling and Rodrigues both have three wins against ranked opponents this spring. Rodrigues has not lost a match against a ranked opponent.

 
The Texas A&M Series

  • South Carolina last defeated Texas A&M in a 4-2 decision in 2019 during the SEC Tournament in Gainesville, Fla. At the time, Texas A&M was ranked 11th and South Carolina was No. 22.
  • This will be the fifth time that the SEC rivals meet in College Station out of 16 meetings.
  • The teams last met in College Station on Mar. 6, 2020, when the Aggies took the win 6-1.

 
Scouting the Aggies

  • Texas A&M has played two other SEC teams this season, beating both Vanderbilt and then-No. 16 Kentucky 6-1.
  • They come into the match 6-1, including a 4-1 record against ranked opponents. Their only loss was to Baylor, which was ranked ahead of Texas A&M at the time of the match.
  • The Aggies boast five Oracle/ITA ranked singles players, three of whom are in the top 50.
  • Twelve returners account for the majority of Texas A&M’s roster, with just one freshman and one redshirt freshman.

 
The LSU Series

  • The Gamecocks are on a five-match winning streak against the Tigers, dating back to 2017.
  • South Carolina is 8-5 against LSU under head coach Josh Goffi. Of those wins, two came in Baton Rouge.
  • The last meeting between the two teams was Mar. 8, 2020, right before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 
Scouting the Tigers

  • LSU enters the match at 8-2, losing to Tulane 2-5 and then-No. 16 Kentucky 0-4.
  • The Tigers are 1-1 against ranked opponents, pulling out a 4-0 upset against then-No. 23 Texas Tech.
  • LSU has a young roster with four freshmen and two redshirt-freshmen on the 11-man team.
  • The Tigers will play No. 11 Florida ahead of Sunday’s match against South Carolina.

 
Rankings Roundup
No. 18 South Carolina
Singles
No. 32 Daniel Rodrigues
No. 81 Raphael Lambling
No. 118 Connor Thomson
 
Doubles
No. 44 Daniel Rodrigues / Connor Thomson
No. 59 Raphael Lambling / Phillip Jordan
 
No. 10 Texas A&M
Singles
No. 4 Valentin Vacherot
No. 13 Hady Habib
No. 33 Juan Carlos Aguilar
No. 110 Barnaby Smith
No. 116 Noah Schachter
 
Doubles
No. 48 Juan Carlos Aguilar / Bjorn Thomson
 
LSU
Singles
No. 99 Ronnie Hohmann
 
Doubles
No. 60 Ronnie Hohmann / Rafael Wagner
 
For men’s tennis updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
 
 
 
 

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